A rising star in the Chinese hyperpop scene, Billionhappy is making his mark on the Shanghai underground with blissed-out tracks that are garnering tens of millions of streams. Having toured with the likes of Beijing rapper Blood Boiz, his music is a spacey restructuring of classic Chinese pop songs blitzed together with glitchy beats and blown-out 808s. 

Following on from viral singles such as “100% fulloflove”, his latest album Shabby Star is all about transformation – into a full-blown pop star. “Shabby has a similar pronunciation to the Chinese ‘sha bi’, which means ‘stupid’,” he explains. “Sometimes stupidity can be a good thing, but this might be my own opinion. There are a lot of stupid things in my life, like I know they’re stupid but we move ahead anyway. I want to grow into a Shabby Star.”

For Billionhappy, growing up online is one of his biggest musical inspirations. “I often checked QQ, an early Chinese chat software, which had its own chat rooms and music distribution – this is where I discovered some of the earliest Chinese internet artists,” he reflects. “My current relationship with the internet is more of a relationship of absorption and transmission. I will discover new inspirations on the Internet, collect and develop them, then transform them into my own things.”

Below, the artist takes us down some of his favourite internet wormholes.

FAVE ALBUM

Billionhappy: This album has influenced me a lot. It is the first album of Miraisenshi, a member of genome6.66mbp. This album can be said to be the earliest cloud rap album in China, and I still think it is the best cloud rap album in China. This album accompanied me with so many memories [of when I was young], and I felt that the lyrics of this album resonated with me. Later, with the support of miraisenshi, I also started to make my own music.

FAVE YOUTUBE

Billionhappy: This is my favourite YouTube channel. They are a couple who share stories every week, or supernatural events and unsolved mysteries. I find it very interesting. Their programs make me feel relaxed, but also give me different inspirations. I’m a big fan, and I’ve been watching their new shows every week for about four years.

FAVE TIKTOK

Billionhappy: General Yu, the youngest general in China.

FAVE INSTAGRAM

Billionhappy: I like Japanese aesthetics, and these pages will give me a lot of inspiration about my own outfits and visuals. I think their androgynous status makes me feel cool, and I also like their outfits and accessories very much.

Shabby Star is out now